Biochar-blended manure modified by polyacrylamide to reduce soil colloidal phosphorus leaching loss

Combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer improves soil structure and crop yield but may lead to increased loss of phosphorus (P). To reduce the P loss risk in this case, rice straw biochar (BC) and sheep manure (SM) were modified using polyacrylamide (PAM). The effects of using organic amendments (BC, SM, and PAM-modified organic mixtures) and no amendments (CK) on soil total and colloidal P leaching loss from paddy soils were evaluated through soil column leaching experiments. The soil leachate volume was increased by 8.91% with BC treatment and reduced by 15.3% with SM treatment. The total P leaching loss (973.9 μg kg −1 ) from the BC-treated soil was higher than that from other treatments (541.4–963.5 μg kg −1 ). However, there was much more colloidal P loss (480.0 μg kg −1 ) from SM treatment. The optimal conditions for the preparation of BC and SM modified using polyacrylamide (PSB) for reducing P leaching loss were SM/BC = 4:1, 1% PAM, and 100 °C. Molybdate-unreactive P accounts for 58.61–86.89% of the colloidal P in the soil leachate with organic amendments. PSB reduced colloidal P loss (particularly in 10–220 nm range) by ~ 50% compared with BC and SM treatments. The colloidal P concentration in the leaching solutions was significantly correlated with TOC and susceptible to Fe and Al concentrations. Using PAM-modified mixture instead of manure and biochar as a soil amendment can effectively control P leaching from fields.